This is a post based on my daily tracking of the People's Daily. You can read and subscribe to the blog here.
Page 9: On the Theory page today, we have Han Wenxiu, deputy director of the Office of the Central Finance and Economics Commission, talking about the “new development concept.” The piece says that the concept comprises five aspects: “Innovative development, coordinated development, green development, open development, and shared development.” Now to fully implement this, he says that “it is necessary to strengthen top-level design and overall coordination, in terms of planning and design, macro guidance, policies and laws, financial investment, work arrangements.” Another important point that he makes is that while all regions and departments must be implementing this concept in their work, this must be done according to one’s “own conditions and possibilities.”
He adds: “With the changes in the main contradictions of our society and the profound adjustment of the international power balance, the internal and external risks of our country’s development have risen significantly. We must effectively increase our awareness of danger, regard safe development as an important starting point for the overall implementation of the new development concept, and be good at foreseeing and predicting various risks and challenges, prepare plans for various ‘black swan’ and ‘gray rhino’ incidents, and continuously enhance the safety of development.”
He then talks about ensuring benefits for the people and ensuring the development is in harmony with the environment. In this, he highlights key challenges:
“The modernization we want to achieve is a modernization that all people prosper together. We must adhere to the people-centered development concept, implement the new development concept, promote shared development, and always pay attention to solving prominent problems such as regional gaps, urban-rural gaps, and widening income distribution gaps throughout the modernization process.”
Finally, he emphasises the political significance of all this: “In the overall situation of the party and the country, economy and politics are closely linked. There is no economy away from politics, and there is no politics away from economics...A complete, accurate and comprehensive understanding and implementation of the new development concept is a concrete manifestation of the implementation of the ‘two maintenances’...The foundation of the party lies in the people, and the strength lies in the people. The implementation of the new development concept is related to the support of the people and the party's ruling foundation.”